Tyvic
5,800,000 |gnprank= 9th |gnppercapita= 0.82 |gnppercapitarank = 23rd |exports = Lumber, metal ores, coal, wool, textiles, rubber & cork, wrought iron |imports = Arms & ammunition }} The Vuscovi Empire (Vuscovi: Yѡi Iжxhiѵuni Vuscovю tr: The Vuscovi Empire), referred to non-Vuscovites as Tyvic, is a large nation on the west coast of The Gloaming North. It is at the forefront of the struggle between the worshipers of The Stallion and The Wolf, and has chafed against a long decline and loss of relevance in the march of industrialization. History Founding (470 S.R.) The lands that became Tyvic were once an unaligned gathering of tribal, moons-worshiping Vuscovi principalities. They suffered depredations at the hands of powerful, Tearvingaul raiders, who stole already sparse crops and livestock. After his clan's steading was sacked and burned by the raiders, the now homeless Prince Yaroslav led his surviving Oath Brothers and set out to avenge his people. Future histories would argue the specifics of his campaign, with some claiming his actions to be justice proportionate to the wrongs committed by the raiders, while others claim that he perpetrated atrocities of incredible cruelty in the hopes of terrorizing the Tearvingauls into ceasing their rapine of Vuscovi lands. Whatever the truth, Yaroslav became known as "Yaroslav of the Red Spear," for his bloody victories. His quick response to Tearvingaul incursions inspired the other Princes to throw their support behind him, until he was able to lead an army of the united tribes to face a "Dark King," at the battle of Cold Streams Pass. The Vuscovi Druids, previously loyal to no Prince declared Yaroslav to be the appointed champion of Ollerus and Verthandi, the Red and White moons, and thus the only one fit to stand above all Princes. The Ride to End Giant Aggression (1025 - 1041 S.R.) Weary of Giant raids from the far north, the Equinex Archelaus II calls for the “Ride to End Giant Aggression,” and grants all the nations of the north a joint Mandate of the Hassek Coast. Amongst the many nations of the North, Tyvic joins in confidence, crossing the North Sea to drive the Giants from the Hassek Coast. Conversion to The Stallion (1055 S.R.) Concession of Vasque (1100 S.R.) After nearly fifty years of civil war, the latest Emperor of Tyvic treats with the rebels and cedes the north, which dubs itself Vasque. The Ride of Southern Liberation (1731 - 1740 S.R.) Tired of the chaos to the markets caused by Southern instability and long desirous of bringing the heathen south into the Church of the Stallion, the Equinex convenes the College of Archbishops to gauge the peoples willingness to invade the south. It is determined that the Emperors of Gilderdammen and Tyvic could be easily persuaded to take up the cause. The Emperor of Gilderdammen is given the Mandate of Gozenram and the Emperor of Tyvic is given the Mandate of Quelosq, and the Church helps with fundraising to create the expeditionary forces necessary for an invasion. Roster of Rulers Tsars The rise of Yaroslav beckoned the end of the age of the Prince and the birth of the era of the Tsar (Shortened from the Vuscovi Tsaar`d`ѵda, meaning "Champion Prince"). The era of the Tsars was characterised as an era of constantly shifting leadership, as princes and warlords ceaselessly jostled for the position of ascended Prince. The age only came to an end with the reign of Kalabai the Unconquerable, and is said to have set the stage for the coming reign of Emperors in the wake of The Stallion's reckoning. *'Yaroslaѵ of the Red Spear' (470 - 508 S.R.) *'Ob`to`xh the Foresighted' (508 - 509 S.R.) *'Sk'aj'xh' (508 - 510 S.R.) *'Zhaa`qa' (510 - 513 S.R.) *'Cirkyt the Bold' (513 - 522 S.R.) *'Vintys' (522 - 526 S.R.) *'Mawys the Demented' (526 - 530 S.R.) *'Dabye' (530 S.R.) *'Maron the Unrelenting' (531 - 539 S.R) *'Yw`oqa' (539 - 545 S.R.) *'Rys`h`en' (545 - 549 S.R.) *'Lukya`wa' (550 - 559 S.R.) *'Uwol' (559 - 566 S.R.) *'Qaysalva' (566 - 579 S.R.) *'Garh`iin the Gilded' (569 - 600 S.R.) *'Wotende Bridge-builder' (600 - 620 S.R.) *'Antys`fe the Solace' (620 - 661 S.R.) *'Wolonwo the Terrible' (661 - 662 S.R.) *'Ara' (664 - 670 S.R.) *'Xhode' (670 S.R.) *'Ewyn' (671 - 700 S.R.) *'Q`khsn' (700 - 713 S.R) *'Mynke' (713 - 744 S.R.) *'Ob`te the Sharp' (744 - 769 S.R.) *'Xhk`ke` the Violent' (769 - 801 S.R.) *'Lowon' (802 - 830 S.R.) *'Kj`olo' (831 - 845 S.R) *'Andur the Strong' (845 - 852 S.R) *'Elkh`okysk`yn' (852 - 861 S.R.) *'Bredya' (862 - 898 S.R.) *'Kana' (898 - 930 S.R.) *'Ye`med' (931 - 967 S.R.) *'Arwas' (967 - 988 S.R.) *'Xho`bhe the Wise ' (988 - 999 S.R.) *'Kalabai the Unconquerable' (999 - 1055 S.R.) The last Tsar and the first Emperor, renamed Genkhita the First-blooded on his coronation. He is known as Kalabai the Traitor in Vasque. Emperors The coming of the Stallion into the lands of the Vuscovites called for a shrugging off of the old ways of the druids to welcome the enlightenment of the Church and its values. No longer were rulers mere ascended princes of the old bloodline, but Emperors faithful to the teachings of The Stallion and the Equinexes. *'Genkhita the First-blooded' (1055 S.R.) Whilst having enjoyed a long reign as Tsar, Genkhita's life as emperor was pitifully short-lived, seeing his end spelled out by means of assassination at the hands of by wolf zealots who successfully stormed the Summer Palace in Voskrensenka, officially marking the start of the Vuscovi Civil War. His title is a reference to both his position as first Emperor and to his untimely death, and is a translation of the more inherently double-intentioned Vuscovi Anng`к`ѧ`, a word string comprised of "first" and "blood". *'Yury I' (1056 - 1111 S.R.) Genkhita's firstborn son. Oversaw the concession of Vasque. *'Elpfexh' (1112 - 1153 S.R.) *'Eonl I' (1153 - 1200 S.R.) *'Miкhyla I the Martyr' (1200 - 1219 S.R.) Assassinated by wolf zealots whilst attending a diplomatic meeting and festival between Tyvic and Vasque, sparking a corrosively potent wave of anti-wolf hatred throughout Tyvic. *'Miкhyla II the Blessed' (1219 S.R. - 1257 S.R.) An Emperor characterised by a reign of absolute hostility to wolf terrorism and the Tsar of Vasque. His name and bloodline have forever since been known as that of warmongering and fundamental adherence to the ways of The Stallion. *'Yury II' (1257 - 1292 S.R.) Fought in many battles against the armies of Vasque. *'Iyzhba I' (1293 - 1355 S.R.) *'Petro' (1356 - 1406 S.R.) *'Tsymѵoѵaк I' (1406 - 1471 S.R.) An Emperor defined as a master craftsman and architect, having constructed some of the most beautiful Churches dedicated to The Stallion. His final church is said to be his greatest, on his deathbed wishing away a vast sum of his personal wealth to be dedicated to the construction his magnum opus. The church that would be built is today known as the Cathedral of Tsymѵoѵaк, and is located in southern Voskrensenka. *'Yury III' (1471 - 1540 S.R.) *'Iyzhba II' (1541 - 1612 S.R.) *'Eonl II' (1612 - 1674 S.R.) *'Neѵкsy the Unknown Martyr' (1674 - 1699 S.R.) Assassinated by the rebel terrorist group Q`wolya, by means of a surprise attack within the halls of the Winter Palace in L'orlan, making him the first Emperor to be assassinated by a force of Wilushan origin. This event marked the official recognition of Wilushan Lunar Terrorism as a threat secondary to that of the ceaseless destruction of the Wolf's followers. *'Miкhyla III the Fool' (1700 - 1728 S.R.) A complacent ruler despised for his indifference to the atrocities of Vasque and Wilusha. His reign ended suddenly with a coup d'etat by the guardsmen of the soon to be named Yury IV and his respective dynasty. *'Yury IV' (1729 - 1745 S.R.) Oversaw the declaration of the Ride of Southern Liberation, and successfully lived to see it through, failure and all. Surviving two unsuccessful coups d'etat, Yury IV abdicated his throne in response to a widespread peasant's revolt, unsatisfied by the aftermath showing only the stealing away of their sons to fight a failed war in an unknown continent, the crumbling of the improperly managed national economy, and the unprecedented, opportunistic Vasqui conquests in the north by the Tsars Zarinsk and Tahkwo. *'Odoa the Liberator' (1745 - 1809 S.R.) Saw through a rule of brutal crackdowns upon the peasantry and an unrelenting strengthening of the policing powers of the state, successfully silencing the worst of peasant dissent. In the mid and latter years of his reign, Odoa championed the Qwym`ln Campaign against the raiding armies of Vasque, and was successful in reversing many the Vasqui conquests in the northeast of Tyvic. As for the conquered regions north of Voskrensenka, they proved far too risky to contest, chiefly in order to preserve the city's local lands from potential devastation, and to not detract any supplies, men and tactical efforts in the southeastern battlefields. *'Baslye the Peacekeeper' (1809 - 1829 S.R.) Held the regained territory in Qwym`ln in defiance of Voovian reaction. Baslye additionally pressured the then reigning Tsar Ananar into signing a treaty that demilitarised the lands between Zarinsk and Voskrensenka, declaring that if one side were to send troops into the lands, the other side was within its right to honourably invade them and their capital. In exchange for the treaty, Baslye allowed the lands to remain under Tsarist control. Since the treaty, the region has commonly become known as the Wunwoellands (Vuscovi: Ae Ѡun`woel`felкe, roughly meaning "The terror-peace Lands"). Baslye has since been hailed, especially in modern times, as the iconic peaceful and diplomatic Emperor. *'Yury V' (1829 - 1877 S.R.) *'Mixhelho the Great' (1878 S.R. - 1959 S.R.) the longest reigning Emperor of Tyvic, remaining enthroned for a long eighty-one years before a natural death. His rule saw the adoption of many eastern attitudes in an attempt to further stimulate a modernisation and industrialisation of the Empyrian economy, including the freeing of peasantry from official serfdom and a recognition and legislative management of the newly born working class. *'Le`on' (1959 S.R.) Due to the long reign of his older brother, Le`on saw only less than a single year of absolute rulership before dying of kidney stones at the age of sixty. *'Tsymѵoѵaк II' (1959 S.R. - present) Current reigning Emperor of Tyvic, his reign has been characterised by a new era of attitudes regarding Tyvic's enemy in the north and the Vuscovi religious wars as a whole, with his influence and ideas being greatly fostered by the now departed Equinex Orchomenus II. Economy Tyvic is handicapped by an unindustrialised, largely feudal economy. Of its population, over eighty percent is peasantry, living for the most part in scattered villages isolated by an ubiquitous lack of communication save the speed of horseback messengers. To the Empyrian peasant, the village is for all purposes their entire world. In 1914 S.R., the peasants had been freed from serfdom in an attempt to modernise national industry, but in practice legislation efforts have changed little. Industry is concentrated in a select few areas, with the greatest industrial centres, in order of developed infrastructure, being Nerushmy, L`orlan, and Voskrensenka, aptly named the "The Rich Triplets of Empyria", and are amongst the Emperor's most prized assets. In spite of this, a large proportion of industry is largely owned by foreign capital, especially in the eastern L'orlan, owing to its ties to Morbihannan in the east. The capitalist class is both minuscule and divided, and is almost entirely dependant of the state to remain competitive. The middle classes are entirely marginalised, almost non-existent, comprised mostly of factory floor managers, professors and economic intelligentsia, and government bureaucrats. Practically all members of this demographic shade more into lower middle class than upper, especially due to their greater dependence on the capitalist class and the state to remain afloat. As for the working class, it too is minuscule, although they are drastically relevant to the Empyrian industrial economy. The working class comprises approximately 15% of the population, and are completely concentrated in the three industrial centres. Although its economy is stunted, Tyvic boasts vast natural resources. Untapped reserves of coal and metal ores, lumber, and rich farmland are amongst the most valued of resources, all of which is currently worked by the peasantry, and forms the backbone of the Empyrian economy. Collectivising peasant labour and hopefully birthing a new working class in the country to more efficiently harvest raw materials are the two most pressing goals on the minds of the Empyrian economic elite. A third, absolute long-term investment, is the construction of a railway, connecting Salaluce in Morbihannan to Nerushmy, then running north through the forested countryside, weaving through the central Nakonnan mountains before finally reaching Voskrensenka. Politics Feudal System & Church Outside of the classes necessitated by capitalism, the feudal system is alive and well. The Emperor still resides as the absolute ruler of not only workers and capitalists, but of nobility and ecclesiastical officials, the latter two of which make up perhaps four percent of the population (not counting of the many thousands of peasant priests and other clergy that run village churches). The Church retains significant power within the nation, thriving off the fruits of nation-wide tithes collected from all not associated with the inner workings of the Church. Like many state-official Churches throughout the continent, the Empyrian Church is free from tax, and is utterly autonomous in its ability to request necessary money from the greater Church network that ties all Stallion-adherent nations, funding religious programs, charities, hospice and research. The Church is additionally regarded as the core of Tyvic's musical and artistic lifeblood, actively funding the production of symphonies and hymns, as well as statues, paintings, mosaics, and intricate textiles, so long as they are of a religious nature. In Vuscovi, the Church is known as Yѡi Slaѵol`xho`schtal. Nobility, as it has for centuries, still governs the multiple counties, shires, parishes and boroughs of Tyvic, dividing Tyvic into 62 such regions. The modern era has seen a radical change for Empyrian nobility, not only threatening their relevance to the state, but also giving rise to a powerful incentive to all noblemen and women to invest in wealth-producing estates - such as factories, docks, lumber camps or mines - and in the exchanging of stock on the national and international market, not just the nobles who own them, but as fully-fledged businesspeople. Civil Rights Naturally, the obscene factory conditions in the three industrial centres has led to civil unrest and strikes by militant layers of the working class. Workers have had, for the entirety of their infantile history, practically no real rights outside of conditions granted to them by their employers, and coupled with similarly treated people of Morbihannan, ranks as perhaps the worst conditions for workers throughout the continent. Average working days for Empyrian workers span from 10-12 hours a day. There is no minimum wage, no sick leave, no penalty rates. Minimal rights exist for women and children, allowing both groups of this demographic to stay at home so that children can be adequately raised. Whilst born from a rather unprofitable and macabre high death rate of working class women and children in factories and mines, threatening the sustainability of the population, problematically, this places more pressure on male workers to work longer hours so that they can feed their families. Unions, when they are not rooted out and crushed by the state, exist only as government-fed bodies intent on placating the working class as much as possible in favour of one-on-one negotiation with bosses. Additionally, health and safety is abysmal. Empyrian urban workplaces are typically large factories, mines or construction sites, where there is a constant threat of falling debris such as girders, bricks or even tools, or even workers falling. Training is often rushed and insufficient, with the weight of most instructional procedures simply being the act of telling workers to get on with their job and not to be killed, lest they lose it to somebody more deserving. This not only results in possible dangerous usage of machinery, but also collapsing construction frameworks, burns, and even electrocution in the most modernised of workplaces. Because of their material interests, including slightly higher wages and job security, factory floor managers are also more inclined to be an additional health and safety threat, in terms of verbal and sometimes even physical abuse carried out on workers not meeting workplace production quotas. However, civil rights have been won through what some call as a "two-pronged effort". Firstly, strike action by thousands of workers in the three key industrial capitals, freezing profits until demands are granted, has succeeded in winning nine or eight hour days in the city of L`orlan. A minimum wage has also been a major campaigning goal, however it is stiffly opposed by capitalists, wielding the rhetoric of international competitiveness like a rapier. Worker's councils are also on the slow rise, focussed strongly on collectivising and standardising workplace knowledge and construction procedures to better improve training procedures, as well as to pinpoint potential safety threats for the betterment of all workers on a particular site. Militancy is rather non-centralised, largely sparked by raw material circumstances and the unified interests of working class people to live less pathetic, dangerous lives. Until recently, the workers had a powerful ally in the Equinex Orchomenus II, himself of Vuscovite heritage. The Equinex visited several factories with a reporter for the Selvanesco Guardian in his entourage, and even spent a night in a miners' barracks. The second prong, so to speak, is the interests of more progressive members capitalist class, especially those of the east. Seeing a window of opportunity in this civil unrest, many have adopted a campaign of "morality, liberty and equality", not only supporting rights of workers so that workplace efficiency is increased tenfold, but also to heighten their own power over the state, the Church and the nobility, campaigning for constitutionalising the crown, and even apparently democratising the lower house so that it is no longer an all-nobles club run by nobles elected by other nobles. This campaign has been met with wide support from large sections of the working class, hoping intently that they keep their promises. Separatism )]] Whilst not a widespread idea, there are also a few who wish for Eastern Empyria to succeed from the Greater Tyvic, having long grown tired of its costly war with the unconvertible zealots of the north, the backward legislation and ideas that still dominate the Empire, as well as the Emperor's apparent obliviousness to the wealth of opportunity the eastern ways have to offer. The handful who support these ideas are even occasionally referred to the spearhead of the democratic movement; and indeed, the foundation of a democratised parliament will ultimately be the very spark that will make these striped flag toting ideologues turn into radical and committed separatists, seeing a pathway through populism and a fostering of eastern-Empyrian cultural unity. Notes Category:Places Category:Nations